


Progression of Life

by Ryu_No_Yuuki



Series: Eveara [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Cadets, F/M, Shinra, Slow Build, Soldiers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-05 00:49:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1799395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryu_No_Yuuki/pseuds/Ryu_No_Yuuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her whole life was based on fighting. When one door closes Eveara finds herself joining Shinra having few other options. This follows her time through the cadet program and into the soldier program as she finds what she wasn't looking for. It is by no means a quick realization but a slow progression as she goes from street rat to SOLDIER.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Life in the Slums

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly speaking I just hope I can write this satisfactory. I have always loved Final Fantasy VII. I have many fond memories of the game. However I have not played Crisis Core. I have only heard of it. This takes place during that time but will later go into the games probably in another story.

Trash littered the ground. People scurried to their destinations as quickly as possible. The world around them was filthy. Despite the gloomy atmosphere people still thrived. Children ran through the streets while adults worked. It was dangerous to live in the Slums. Everyone looked over their shoulders and windows were boarded up. One girl walked among the streets casually. She was dressed in a tank top and baggy pants held up by a worn belt. Each hip showed off a short sword in its sheath. Across her back was a boa staff. Her hair was a red short mess so as no one could use it against her. Her grey eyes skimmed her surroundings. This was her home. These streets were so familiar she could walk them blind.

People avoided her gaze and hurried past her. She paid them no attention. None of them were worth her time. Gangs ruled the area and she was known to be a one woman gang. Most knew her as the mad guardian. She was known to protect certain people fiercely and was considered crazy by most of the populace. Her real name was Eveara Leonhearth or Eve. She ducked into a weapons shop. All of the weapons were behind the counter and you needed a key for each one. There were different locks for each case. Eve jumped over the counter and headed to the back of the shop. An elderly woman, hardened by life, greeted her. “Better prepare yourself Eveara,” the elderly woman commented. “It’s shaping up to be a rough day. I already had one fool who thought they could try to cheat me.”

“Isn’t every day rough, Louise?” Eve replied.

“Just get to work. I don’t pay slackers.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Pesky teenager,” Louise muttered under her breath. Eve pretended not to hear her. Louise was one of the few people she respected. Like most days only the rough sort came through and more than half tried to cheat in order to buy their weapons. Louise and Eve were not having it. Eve would use her staff on any rough customers while Louise would point her shotgun at any of the ones that tried anything funny. Hours went by like this. Very few weapons were actually sold.

After six hours of work Eve was finally done for the day. She threw her apron down and made sure all the weapons were locked up properly. “See ya later Lou,” Eve called out as she slid over the counter. She was out the door and ready to leave.

“It’s Louise you brat,” Louise yelled back. Eve only barely heard her. Eve moved through the crowd easily. A few children bumped into her but she just laughed. There was nothing in her pockets that they could steal. It was laughable that they would try. Everything she needed was in her bra and no one got away with touching it. At the end of the street there was a stall that sold soup in a bowl. It was okay tasting but cheap and one of the few things she could afford. Eve hurried over before they could close. She ordered a mushroom soup since it was the cheapest. A meat soup would have been preferable but it was out of her budget. The bread was stale but with the soup she was able to soften it enough to eat. Once she was finished she ducked back into the crowd.

Being so late at night, or what one could assume was night, was dangerous. The plate made it hard to tell the time but it always seemed darker in the evenings. Most people locked themselves away by this time. Eve had no place of her own to go to. Usually she would just wander until she found a secure place to sleep. Tonight she was able to find room in sector seven at the playground. There was a tunnel she was able to crawl into. With only two entrances it was the most ideal place she could find.

Eve woke up to a commotion outside her resting spot. She crept to one of the entrances to see what was going on. Outside there were a group of guys ganging up on a pair of teenagers. They outnumbered the teens five to two. “Hey what do you think you’re doing?” Eve shouted at the men.

“None of your damn business bitch,” one of the men replied. “Not unless you want to be entertainment for the boys.”

“You must be new to this side of the Slums jackass. Everything dealing with guys like you is my business,” Eve stated. She glared as the men laughed at her. As they laughed, she launched her attack. For this fight she decided to use her staff. Her first hit dropped the man who was bad talking her. She smashed her staff into the side of his head. Her next move was to jab another of the men in the gut. He groaned pathetically as she brought her knee up to his nose. One of the men had a gun and pointed it at her. Using her staff she knocked the gun out of the way and got up close. She then planted her knee into his stomach. The teens she was defending wasted no time in running while they had the chance.

The gang got a few hits on her but Eve was able to angle her limbs so it was only superficial damage. The last two men were the hardest to take down. Instead of attacking individually like the other three, they decided to team up. “Looks like you two are smarter than those three idiots. Although I wonder how smart you really are considering you hang out with them,” Eve taunted. It was the push she needed to get the last two men out of sync. One of them charged forward. She used this to her advantage by knocking him off his feet and then swiftly jabbing the man coming up behind her. Once she knew they were down she left the scene. It wouldn’t be wise to stick around and wait for them to wake up pissed off at her. Eve wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in the Slums knew what went down in an hour. Gossip tended to travel fast especially if you knew the right people.

No one bothered her as she moved through the streets. A few people glanced her way however when she met their gazes they would look away quickly. Eve could hear the whispers about how crazy she was and how mothers would tell their children to avoid her. The whispers never bothered her. She had years to get used to them. What bothered her was all the looks she would receive and how people would refuse to be in the same vicinity as her. She ducked into the weapon’s shop. Louise looked at her. “What are you doing here? It’s not time for you to work yet and don’t think I will pay you extra if you start now,” Louise warned.

“Nothing like that. Besides it’s my day off. I just needed to get away for a moment,” Eve explained.

“You got into another fight again didn’t you?”

“They just keep happening. I don’t provoke them.”

“Uh huh. You can rest here awhile but then I want you to get out, you hear me? You lurking in a corner is bad for business.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Kids these days…”

Once Eve knew the coast was clear she left the shop behind. She decided to go to her favorite place in the Slums and let loose her pent up energy. Her favorite place was rarely visited by anyone since it was dangerous to hang around. The place that was so special to her was one of the construction zones. It was peaceful since all the hazards warded people away. Eve never minded. It was also great exercise to mess around the equipment left behind. She took a deep breath once she arrived. Exhaling loudly she immediately began running towards one of the towers. She vaulted over a large pipe and used the tower to kick herself off to one of the many beams. She did flips and jumps to make her way around the area. The construction zone was her playground. Every piece was utilized as she made her way around.

An hour later and Eve was finally starting to get tired. She went and leaned against one of the pillars that laid around half hazardly. Looking around she wished she knew what they had been planning to build here before they shut down work. The Slums were a bunch of forgotten projects with the stories lost as the people moved away or moved on. It was dangerous but people adapted. They learned to survive. Eve decided to patrol the Slums with her new found energy.

During her patrol she got caught up in three different fights and helped to catch a thief. The last one she hadn’t even known the man in question was stealing something until she recognized the purse he had taken. She had then thrown a stray rock at the back of his head causing him to stumble and eventually trip. Someone else took him down. The fights left her minimally injured. She used a Cure materia in order to rid herself of any damage. Materia was hard to come by but it was well worth the gil spent to buy. Being able to cure oneself would always be worth it. In the long run it saved her a lot of money also. Having Cure opened up the opportunity to Cure other people in exchange for gil. She rarely did this but when she did it was very profitable.

Eve was bored. Each day was similar to the next. She was either fighting, working, or running about the construction area. Rarely did she get a break. The Slums was not the safest of areas to be in. One had to constantly be on guard if they did not want to be caught unaware. Those who let their guards down didn’t last long. This made relaxing difficult and left her feeling wired for days on end. It was a feeling many were used to but it wasn’t pleasant. Children were the only exception and even they weren’t perfectly safe.  
She decided to go to the market street for a few hours. There was a bar there that she liked to frequent when she had the gil to. As long as you had gil and confidence they wouldn’t care how old you were. The bartender, a middle aged man, glanced at her before preparing her drink. Eve ordered the same drink every time. She had no idea what was in it but it had a sweet with a hint of sour taste. Eve knocked a few back before switching to water. The taste was iffy but water helped keep her alert. The bartender kicked her out after she paid for her drinks. Not that she blamed him. If she wasn’t going to order anything else then she was taking up space he could use. She left without a fuss.

Finding a place to rest became harder as the hours wore on. The park she had previously slept in was taken by a couple. She did not want to touch the equipment after that. Eventually she found a spot on one of the rooftops that was hidden by a chimney. The roof she found solace in was that of a church. It was peaceful. No one messed with this place especially since actual plants grew in the middle of the church. For some reason it gave the inhabitants of the Slums hope that Midgard wasn’t completely dead. Others just didn’t want to get on the Turks bad side. Everyone down here knew they were watching the girl who tended the flowers in the church.

Her rest was peaceful. Eve had never felt so well rested. It was rare to sleep well when one was constantly looking out for danger. She decided it was time to head to Louise’s shop and begin another long day of work. The streets were filled with whispers. This wasn’t anything new but it usually meant something bad had occurred recently. Normally people in the Slums whispered like this when there was an attack or theft. It could be anything really. Bad things happened every day after all. Eve decided to ignore it for now. Louise would tell her if it was anything important.

When she arrived at work she knew something was wrong. Outside the store the walls would never be clean but it was never this dirty. Mud caked the outside walls. Glass from a newly broken window littered the ground. It was horrible. Eve carefully walked into the shop. She had no idea what to expect. If she thought the outside looked bad the inside was even worse. Shell casings covered the ground, bullet holes were visible everywhere, and a bunch of the merchandise was gone. Eve walked towards the back. “Louise? Is everything okay? What happened?” It was so quiet she thought the worse. Louise however was slumped in a chair in the back. She was perfectly healthy which relieved Eve greatly. Louise looked defeated though. Eve had never seen her look like this before. “Are you alright?” Eve repeated.

“No. I am not sure if I will be alright either. All my hard work wasted. There is nothing I can do,” Louise said somberly.

“What can I do? How can I make this better? Surely there is something I can do to help,” Eve responded. She hated seeing Louise so down.

“There is nothing you can do but leave. There is nothing here,” Louise replied.

“What? What do you mean?”

“The men who ransacked my shop were after you. I know you’re not that bad of a brat but I can’t afford to protect you. My daughter may be estranged but I don’t want her to be a target in order to get to me.”

“I see…I’m sorry this happened.”

“So am I. You were a good worker.”

“I guess I will see you around,” Eve mumbled.

“Probably not,” Louise replied.

“No, I probably won’t but it’s a nice thought to have,” Eve agreed. There was nothing more to be said. Eve didn’t even bother to ask for her last pay check. She just walked right out the front door. The crowd soon swallowed her up until she was just another face in the crowd.


	2. Welcome Cadet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter. Expect a bit of delay between updates since I do work two jobs but I have it all plotted out so I will update.

Eve walked aimlessly. Ever since she was fired she found herself wandering around the Slums. She got into more fights now that she didn’t have anything else to occupy her time. Her food budget suffered as she now had to rely on using her cure material as her sole source of income. Some days were better than others but only those with horrible injuries came to her with gil. If it was minor they wouldn’t bother. This couldn’t last. She needed a job and soon. The results were always the same though whenever she asked around. No one in the Slums was hiring, especially not someone as troublesome as her. She was associated with gang activity as she was constantly fighting known gang members. Everyone she asked just turned her away. The Honeybee Inn even declined her working there part time as part of the cleaning staff. They never declined anyone especially a woman. Her options were dwindling. She didn’t want to resort to stealing but it was on the bottom on her list of options.

One of the few skills Eve had was fighting. Not many jobs would pay her to fight and she didn’t have many other skills. Anything else would require training and more often than not they would just hire someone with experience. She was walking by the wall many kids used to look at the upper plate when it hit her. She could join Shinra and be part of their SOLDIER program. It was not her first pick of jobs but she had no room to be picky. Eve was low on gil and needed to do something to earn money. Being part of SOLDIER would allow her to travel though and improve her combat skills.

Now that she had a plan, Eve felt a lot better. All she would need to do now was save up enough money to travel to the upper plate and get some identification papers. The papers would be the easiest to get. There was a man in sector four who would make authentic papers for a fee of one hundred gil. Finding a transport that would travel all the way to the upper plate from the Slums would be the harder part. Eve heard there was one that came daily but she had never seen it. Then again she never had a reason to look before.

Eve skipped dinner in order to afford her identification card and in order to help with the transport ticket she would need. She made sure to keep it in a safe place. Then she began her search for the transport. A lot of people gave conflicting information. Some told her it was in sector five while others told her it was in sector two. After a lot of searching she found the transport in sector six. It showed the times on a billboard across the station. Eve would need to wait until morning before the next ride. She had taken too much time searching and the last transport had left a half hour ago. Instead of heading for a safe place to sleep she went and did odd jobs for money. For the most part she was unsuccessful but a few people did pay her to escort them around as a guard. Out of everyone she asked only a handful accepted her help. By the time morning came she had made seventy four gil. That was a lot for one nights work.

The ride to the upper plate made her nervous. Finding a job at Shinra was not easy unless you joined their infantry. Infantry men were always recruiting and it was required to join the infantry at least two months before the SOLDIER exam. Joining the infantry was guaranteed but she couldn’t shake her nerves. She had no idea why she was so nervous. When the transport finally ascended she was amazed at the view. She forgot all about her troubles as she took everything in. The upper plate was beautiful. It was clean without any traces of dirt. Buildings shone in the sunlight that Eve was unused to. Everything seemed to sparkle. It was vastly different from the Slums. There was also no liter scattered across the ground or bad smells. Everything looked perfect. Eve didn’t let that fool her as to what kind of people lived up here but the view was well worth it.

When Eve stepped off the transport people looked at her in disdain. Her appearance gave away her origins. From the clothes she wore to her mannerisms showed that she was a Slum rat. She had expected this reaction though. It didn’t overly bother her that they looked down on her but she couldn’t say she liked it. Instead of lingering in order to enjoy the view she strode quickly to the Shinra building. She had no idea what to do once she arrived at her destination but she would figure it out. Would there be a separate building for infantry applicants? Did she need anything else besides what she had? Millions of thoughts raced through her head. Eve pushed them all out of the way as she made her way over to the Shinra building.

Surprisingly the secretary, Amy, told her everything she would need to know. She pointed out where registration for infantrymen were and told her everything she would need to do. First she would have to present a valid identification card, and then she would need to take a physical. After her physical she would then need to take two exams. One exam was based on physical fitness while the other focused on mental. There would be a few hours waiting period before her results would be in. A recruiter would then talk with her. If she made it she would be put in a temporary dorm before enough men were gathered to form a real group. That was only if she didn’t already have temporary housing outside of the facility. She had to give up her weapons temporary during this process.

Presenting her new identification card was easy. Eve had been expecting to do that. The person checking her identification card did look at her oddly when she pulled it out of her bra though. Everything checked out with the card even if there wasn’t a permanent address listed like most cards had. Being from the Slums they made an exception. They handed it back easily once they took down all her information. Her physical was the only part that she was worried about. Living in the Slums was horrible for anyone’s health and one could never be sure if they picked something up just visiting. Her physical was very thorough. Eve almost felt violated by all the poking and prodding they did. A female doctor even took samples of her blood and urine. Eve was about ready to bolt by the time the physical was finished. She nearly did when someone else came to collect her for her exams. They did the physical fitness exam first.

Eve managed to do eighty seven push-ups which was more than the fifty they told her was average. She even managed thirty three sit-ups out of the twenty five they mentioned was average. Her time in the mile run was seven point eight minutes. All in all her physical exam went well. They wouldn’t reject her for not meeting their marks but she felt satisfaction when she did better than average. Next was the written exam which was a lot harder. She didn’t know most of what the test was talking about. She at least was able to read and understand the questions even if her handwriting needed work. When she was finished with everything she was exhausted. The lack of sleep and food was catching up with her.

The recruiters allowed her to rest. They showed Eve to a waiting room near the lobby of Shinra’s entrance. Once she was comfortable they told her they would be back in a few hours. Books and magazines were scattered around the room. There was even one on the ceiling fan. Eve did not care to read but there was little else to do. Sleep was not an option yet considering she didn’t trust her surroundings. The book she chose was all about Shinra’s policies. If she wasn’t positive she was being watched she would have laughed at what she was reading. All the book was, was a bunch of propaganda. It listed all of the supposed benefits of joining Shinra. She was half way through the book when the recruiters came back. Eve was led into yet another room. The recruiter sat across the table from her. “So we have gone over your results thoroughly,” he told her. Eve nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Your physicals showed that you were slightly underweight and showed bruising in a lot of areas. With rest and a proper diet I see no reason for you to not be fine. There were no major illnesses or diseases. Drug testing came back negative. As you are aware we do not stand for drugs to be taken especially if you are to be an employee. Any questions so far?”

“Not really,” Eve replied. “I expected some of the results.”

“Alright. On your exams you did extremely well for a new recruit on your physical fitness portion. Most cadets can’t make it to standard at first. A lot of the time we have to build up to that level. On the other hand your written exam could have been better. It was not the worst one I’ve seen but you are barely passing with an average score. When put together we’ve decided to accept you application,” the recruiter explained. She doubted they would have rejected her even if she failed on one or both.

“Thank you very much,” Eve said. “Where will I be staying? Amy, the secretary, mentioned you could accommodate me.”

“There are bunks available with cadets already in the program. You won’t start classes for a couple weeks when we get enough applicants to form a new group. Each group should have a minimum of sixteen cadets usually divided into two subgroups. During your wait the facilities that are available to cadets are available to you,” he explained.

“What about books and uniforms?”

“Those will be provided once your classes are set up. Any more questions?”

Eve had nothing else she needed to know at the time being. The recruiter, who finally introduced himself as Sergeant Allons, showed her to the dorms she would be staying in. Sergeant Allons told her she was allowed to leave and grab any more items that she may need. He handed her a temporary pass to allow her back into the facility and around the grounds. Eve had nothing else to bring except what she carried in. Her weapons were handed back to her after she was accepted in. Instead she decided to explore the building and see what she could get into. Her keycard allowed her into a library, the cafeteria, one of the training rooms, communal bathrooms, and the lower floors of the Shinra building. Only a few people glanced her way as she wandered around. Eve figured it was a common sight for new recruits to wander. All of them looked extremely busy too.

When evening hit Eve headed back towards the cafeteria. It was crowded worse than the Market street in the Slums. Eve handed one of the ladies behind the counter her meal ticket and was handed a letter in return. She then gave the letter to the cafeteria lady who prepared the food. Her meal was prepared quickly. The plate she received was different from all the others. Her plate was packed with a lot of light, nutritious foods along with a few high calorie foods. Most of the others had heavier meals that were made with plenty of protein. She decided it was best not to dwell on it and focused on finding a seat. Every table she looked to was packed. Eve was able to squeeze her way into a table between two lanky cadets. She didn’t bother to talk with either of them as she ate.

After she was done with her meal she went back to wandering the compound. One of the younger officers stopped her in order to harass her. He kept insisting she was supposed to salute him as soon as she saw him and do everything he said no matter what. Eve in turn explained that she wasn’t an official cadet yet so she didn’t have to do anything he said. She had read that much of the rules. Until she got her uniform and team she was an unofficial member of the infantry. Nothing was expected of her at this time. As he sputtered, Eve calmly walked away.

The next week and a half went by similarly. She wandered the halls and ate whenever she felt hungry. Eve did train a little when no one else was using the training rooms. By the end of the week and a half, thirteen new recruits had joined. There were two other cadets that had joined before her. Eve was put onto a team now that they could be divided evenly. Her team consisted of two girls and five boys. Eve was the oldest out of her whole croup at eighteen years old. Most of the new recruits were sixteen with the occasional seventeen or fifteen year old. She was a bit disturbed to see how young all of her bunk-mates were. Two years made all the difference in her opinion. Some of the group was from Midgard but a majority was from country towns or Kalm.

Now that the groups were formed uniforms were handed out and the schedules were set. Sergeant Allons explained all of the rules and regulations. He would be their adviser as well as their instructor for tactics. Other instructors had their own groups to advise. Eve tuned out part of his speech. He was so predictable in his welcome to Shinra speech. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same speech he had been given when he was a cadet. Looking around at her team she could tell she was in for a long boring time. Even though she hadn’t started she already wished she was part of the SOLDIER program and sent on missions. That would cure her boredom. She wondered what the future held now that she was here.


	3. Start Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been writing it's just in my notebook between classes and work. I get home and I just wanted to either sleep or read. Now that I'm on winter break I decided to start typing what I have written. Once again I apologize for the long wait and I hope you like it!

Classes weren’t as bad as Eve expected. Most of the information was useful to her. How to use materia before they handled it had been very helpful. It kept injuries down by a lot. She also found tactics to be interesting if not a bit of common sense at the moment. Fighting in the streets did teach you a lot about what to do and not do in certain situations. Classes that focused on physical fitness were her favorite. She excelled in those classes. There were only a few guys who could do better than her. In hand to hand combat though Eve beat everybody. Mainly this was due to her having more experience brawling than anyone else. She was also easily the most flexible with decent endurance.

Today would have been like any other except their class had a trip to the wastes or the outskirts of Midgard. Two groups of cadets would shadow a few second class SOLDIERs. They would get to see what being a SOLDIER was all about. Eve hoped they would be able to fight a few monsters themselves but realized it was unlikely considering how much the cadets knew. Half the class couldn’t hold a weapon properly. Out of those that could only a handful could use their weapons effectively. They had months until the next SOLDIER exam though so there was plenty of time to improve.

“All right cadets. We will be pairing you off based on how good or bad you are at combat. For each cadet good at fighting there will be one with them that isn’t. Who knows maybe in a few months your pairs will be reversed? Who cares, just line up when you hear your name,” Sergeant Allons announced. Eve’s name was the fourth to be called out. “Eveara Leonhearth you’re with Sydney Sinclair.” Eve looked to see who her partner was. She found a short, stocky female with blond hair. Sydney didn’t look like much of anything.

“Okay show me your fighting stance,” Eve said to Sydney once they had a second to themselves. Sydney was practically touching the ground as she crouched when she got into position. Eve couldn’t help but stare. “Alrighty…” She then went behind Sydney and moved her into the right position. “Try again.” Sydney crouched again. This time she was only slightly off. Eve made her keep getting into the correct position until Sydney automatically did it herself.

“Wow, I didn’t think I would ever get it,” Sydney said amazed.

“You just needed a personal touch. If you ever need help find me and I’ll see what I can do,” Eve replied.

“Really?” Sydney asked.

“Yeah I don’t mind,” Eve assured her. Before Sydney could say anything else the group began to move. There were four second class SOLDIERS and one third class that they would be shadowing. The second class SOLDIERS were Lieutenant Jack Joshing, Lynn Simmons, Clark Kenton, and Zack Fair. As for the third class SOLDIER the only name Eve heard was Günther. She didn’t anything else nor did she particularly care. The trip to the wastes was short. They could have walked but took a convoy instead. Eve figured it was to keep them all together and accounted for.

For the most part the cadets were useless. The mission was to destroy the monsters prowling around the Slums. All of the cadets were forced to stay back and watch as the SOLDIERS handled it. One of the smaller monsters broke free however and went after the cadets before anyone could do anything about it. Eve and a few other cadets surged forward to attack. She used her short swords to slash at the monster. One of the other cadets, who she noticed had spiky blond hair, used one of the issued rifles to attack. Within minutes the monster was taken down. They had each attacked it from different angles making the monster confused as to who attacked first then they had someone come up behind to do the finishing blow. They cheered once the monster was down. Sergeant Allons stormed over when he saw what had happened. He was pissed but not at the cadets. No, he was angry at the SOLDIERS who said they had everything under control. “I thought you said this exercise would be perfectly safe,” he ground out. “If it wasn’t for these cadets attacking, someone could have gotten permanently injured or worse.”

“Calm down everything is fine,” Joshing tried to placate. Sergeant Allons wasn’t listening.

“Calm down? These are my men. If you want me to calm down you’ve got another thing coming.”

“You don’t have to worry so much everything is okay,” Simmons tried to reassure Sergeant Allons also. She had as much success as Joshing. “Your men are fine and they did good taking care of the monster.”

“No, it is not okay. We are heading back now. Expect the higher ups to hear about this,” Allons stated angrily. Eve had never seen him so pissed off before. He was stern but he never yelled. It was an uncommon trait among the sergeants. They were marched back to the convoys. A few cadets murmured to themselves but for the most part it was silent. No one wanted to anger Sergeant Allons any further. Sydney huddled close to Eve. If Eve wasn’t so used to sharing space with others she would have been very uncomfortable with how close Sydney was. As it was she only shifted away slightly. The rest of the day was subdued. Sergeant Allons outburst that morning made it around the building. Eve was relieved when nothing happened to him since the SOLDIERs were technically a higher rank than him. She thought he was one of the better teachers. Soon enough people stopped talking about the incident as another story cropped up and it faded away. A couple days later Sydney came to Eve for advice. Eve sighed at Sydney’s eager expression.

“You have already failed an important lesson,” Eve told her. Sydney looked at her confused.

“How can I have failed something already? I only just came to you for help,” Sydney exclaimed.

“Exactly. You came to me for help. You don’t know my motivations or if I expect anything from you. For all you know I could want money or favors in return for my help,” Eve explained. “You’re giving to much away right away.”

“Well do you want favors or money?” Sydney sniped back. She didn’t like hearing that she failed something.

“No, but paranoia is your friend especially since you are training for the SOLDIER program,” Eve replied.

“Then why are you willing to teach me?”

“Good, you are picking this up quickly. I actually get a sadistic satisfaction when teaching people.”

“Okay…” Sydney responded looking worried.

“And you failed again.”

“What? You told me your reason.”

“And you weren’t skeptical? Always be a skeptic. Never trust what somebody says without reason.”

“I am going to regret coming to you for help aren’t I?”

“Probably but it will be worth it,” Eve reassured.

“How can you have so much confidence? We’re at the same level,” Sydney asked.

“We are the same rank, not the same level there is a difference. Besides I probably have more experience in these things than you. Where are you from?”

“My family lives a few blocks away from here,” Sydney replied.

“Ah, see I’m from the Slums.”

“You lived down there?” Sydney asked in shock. Eve wondered what she had heard about the Slums. A lot of people seemed to think the conditions made in completely unlivable. She had no idea why. The conditions were horrible but not bad enough to kill you if you were smart. Then again no one lived there by choice.

“Let’s just focus on what you need to learn,” Eve redirected.

Sydney showed Eve what she had learned while Eve assessed her skills. There was a lot Sydney needed to work on. Her form was barely passable and if it wasn’t corrected now then she would have a terrible foundation. It would lead to a lot problems down the road. Eve decided to work on that first. She kept correcting her until Sydney would slide into the moves unconsciously. One evening wouldn’t correct everything but it was a start. It went well though.

“How do you know the correct forms so well? I mean living in the Slums wouldn’t you be worse off than me?” Sydney asked. Eve raised an eyebrow in disbelief. She couldn’t believe Sydney was so careless with her words even if they didn’t affect her.

“Normally yes, however I have had official training before I came.”

“Really from who?”

“No one that concerns you at this moment. Now stop trying to distract me from teaching. It will only make things worse for you if you don’t take this seriously.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Eve then made Sydney exercise with her. Originally she was going to let her go but instead changed her mind. There was a track outside made for running. Sydney barely made the mile run in fifteen minutes. Eve corrected her breathing patterns after she ran the mile. Then she insisted they would run together on a daily basis excluding weekends. It would have included weekends except Sydney protested. Eve couldn’t’ make her do anything so she agreed. She then cut the lesson off. Sydney’s attention was starting to wander and Eve wanted to end the session on a good note. They parted amicably but Eve wasn’t sure if Sydney would come back for any more lessons. It was a toss-up. There was no way to tell until the next day came about.

Eve continued to train for a few more hours. It marveled her how easily exercising came to her than it did before. She could tell that ever since she started the program she was a lot healthier. Pushing past her old limits became easier. Her physical abilities had improved along with her skills. Even when she was done with classes for the day Eve would continue to train. After two hours of exercising she headed back to the dorms for a good night’s sleep. Even if she was healthier she still became tired. All she could think of was finding her pillow and not waking up for hours. To her that sounded like heaven.


	4. Making Aquaintences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have half an hour until the New Year and rushed to get this done before then. I barely managed to and am so proud that I did. I hope you enjoy it! I have at least until chapter 8 written in my notebook I just need to type it all up. Please feel free to comment. Happy New Year everyone!

One her way to the dorms Eve ran into a scene she had not expected. A couple of older cadets she didn’t recognize were messing with one of the cadets she vaguely recognized from one of her classes. She could hear them taunting a spikey blond cadet. This was enough to piss her off. She still had her staff on her though since Shinra did allow them to carry any weapons they had to the training grounds. When one of the men pushed the spiky blond she went ballistic. Eve shoved the offender to the other wall and leveled a glare at him. “What do you think you’re doing?” she ground out.

“What does it look like? Getting rid of the weaklings,” another cadet mouthed off. “Shinra doesn’t need any dead weights dragging it down.”

“If anyone is weak it’s you,” Eve retorted. “You need to gang up in order to accomplish anything. I bet none of you could do anything by yourselves.”

The guys tried to look intimidating but Eve had seen worse. These guys were not worth her time so she just stared them down. One of the cadets tried to throw a punch at her but Eve was able to deflect it. Using her staff she put distance between the cadets and herself. It wasn’t long before the group retreated. All she had to do was knock a few of them around before they got the hint. Eve turned to face the spiky blond cadet. She hadn’t expected him to thank her but she wasn’t expecting his glare. Then again it looked kind of like a pout more than a glare. His features were rather androgynous with his eyes looking a bit feminine. Most of this was due to him looking so young.

“I could have handled that myself,” he informed her.

“Whether you could have or not played no role in me helping you,” Eve replied.

“I highly doubt that. You probably think I am weak just like them,” he retorted.

“Obviously because you know me so well and can guess my very thoughts,” she said sarcastically. They stared at each other for four minutes straight. “So what is your name?”

“Cloud Strife,” the blond replied. “Yours?”

“Eveara Leonhearth. I prefer Eve though.”

“I will see you in class then,” Cloud said before walking away. It took Eve a few minutes but she realized Cloud was one of the cadets that stepped forward when the monsters broke free. He was also in a few of her classes and she saw him when it was her turn for patrol. She hardly talked to anyone in any of her classes. Rarely did she talk to her bunk mates. His attitude was refreshing. Besides the outburst now he seemed like the quiet type of person which Eve could appreciate. Next time she saw him she vowed to talk to him. Eve could use a good conversationalist. Louise had been the last person she actively conversed with.

An opportunity to speak to Cloud came up the very next day. In the morning after patrol she found him sitting off to the side of the mess hall. There was plenty of space between him and the other cadets. She compared their meals before sitting down. Her meal showed she was still on the regimen plan she had started with to bring her up to a healthier weight. Cloud had the same breakfast as everyone else. She thought it was so unfair since he was so skinny himself but she knew his weight evened out since he was also shorter than her. “Good morning Cloudy, the world should still be asleep,” Eve greeted. Cloud glared at her.

“You are way to awake for someone who hates mornings,” Cloud grumbled.

“Being able to function and liking mornings are two different things,” Eve pointed out. “Besides being a country boy shouldn’t you be used to waking up early? You seem awfully grouchy this morning.”

“How did you know I was a country boy?” Cloud demanded to know. Eve just grinned.

“You are easy to spot for someone like me,” she replied.

“Someone like you?”

“A slum rat.”

“A what?”

“Exactly. Every city person knows what a slum rat is. Besides you can hide most of it but you still have a drawl on occasion.”

“What exactly is a slum rat?” he asked ignoring the part about his drawl.

“A slum rat is a person born and raised below the plate. They think we are scum because we live in poverty and that we aren’t worth as much as the people above the plate are,” Eve explained. Cloud frowned. She could tell what she had said bothered him. She wondered if it was because of the prejudice of the upper plate. He did seem to dislike bullies. They didn’t have any more time to chat after that. Both of them had separate classes they needed to get to. Eve wouldn’t see him until her third class of the day which was basic survival training. It was one of the few classes she was good at that wasn’t overly physical. She did her best to pay attention to her classes. Her notes were a mess but she figured she got everything she needed. All she did was write what the teachers said word for word. It was bound to be helpful. At least she hoped so. Otherwise she would burn something.

When basic survival came around Eve grabbed a seat by Cloud. He looked confused by her presence. Before he could ask Eve why she sat next to him their professor, Sergeant Dirk, strolled in. Sergeant Dirk was a middle aged woman with scars running down the left side of her face. It was a mystery to all how she received them. Everyone became alert at once. Today they would be working in pairs and going on a trip to the city. There were supposed to buy three specific items by the end of the class with the amount given to them. It was urban survival this week. Eve immediately claimed Cloud as her partner. He didn’t protest since he had no one else wanting to pair with him. Cloud also didn’t wish to be one of the leftovers paired up due to necessity. Eve was put in charge of their group since she had more experience. Cloud just needed to follow her lead. They had to sign a document stating they knew what they were getting into before they left.

Cloud asked Eve a lot of questions. He asked about where to get each item and how since some of them looked expensive and they only had two hundred gil max. “How do you plan to get all of this?” Cloud asked as he handed the list back to Eve.

“Haggle plain and simple. You are going to be my wing-man. When I say I want something you be practical and say we don’t need it. Then I will complain about it. You will then say we can get it cheaper somewhere else. Always start to head to the door at that point. If he refuses to sell it cheaper there really are other places so we will go to another shop. Understand?” Eve explained. That was the basis of her plan.

“That doesn’t sound too hard…”

“The key is confidence. Always keep in mind that we can go somewhere else.”

“What happens if that’s the only shop?”

“Then we pickpocket one of the other cadets. Honestly I’m not going to spend all of this if I don’t have to.”

The first shop they went into was a bust. The owner wouldn’t haggle at all. Eve left the store without regret. Even though the class was restricted to the upper plate Eve was familiar with some of the people. A lot of business owners did go to the Honey Bee Inn in the Slums after all. They were easy prey. Next shop they went to refused to serve them since they didn’t belong according to the owner. Both Cloud and Eve were more than happy to leave that particular spot. It took a while but they managed to find a shop that sold two of the three items. After a lot of haggling they managed to reduce their payment to one hundred and eighteen gil for both items. This left them with eighty-two gil for the last item. When they found it Cloud saw the price was eighty-five gil. That was almost within their range. He would be happy to git it reduced to eighty-two but Eve wasn’t having it. She said forty-two or nothing. Surprisingly the owner went with her option. This left them with a profit of forty gil. They spit it evenly between the two of them.

Class was about to end which meant their time limit was about to expire. Eve took the shortcut she knew from scaling the wall to the compound. Cloud just followed her lead without question. Sergeant Dirk was proud of their success. They even got to keep their excess gil as a reward. Cloud was surprised. When he mentioned this to Eve she looked at him funny. “Why? It’s a reward to those who can make it through the challenge. I expected it to be the case,” Eve replied. “Otherwise participants could just lie and take the money anyways.

“I don’t know I just figured they would want their money back,” Cloud said in exchange.

“Normally they would, however they need to boost morale and support in the company early on.”

“You don’t seem to have a lot of trust in the company.”

“Don’t trust anything that is not definite and even then show a little doubt.”

“You have a lot of trust issues.”

“With good reason.”

“Why did you join Shinra?” Cloud inquired. Eve kept quiet for a bit.

“Because I had nowhere else to go.”

Once again they were split up in order to head to their separate classes. Eve had enjoyed her conversation with Cloud. He was very inquisitive. The rest of the day seemed to drag on. Her classes were a bore. She nearly fell asleep multiple times but somehow she managed not to. It was a relief to find classes were over for the day. Eve went to find Cloud after classes ended.

Cloud was heading towards the cafeteria. She sidled up next to him. He glanced her way but did nothing else. Eve made sure they got seats next to each other. If it bothered Cloud he didn’t say anything. She then began to interrogate him. He replied to most of her questions but deflected a few. Eve didn’t pry and would move on to the next question. It wasn’t long before Cloud was also asking her questions. Eve was more than happy to answer them for him. She even answered some of the more prying questions he didn’t expect her to reply to. “You know I didn’t think you would answer any of my questions,” Cloud said abruptly.

“You didn’t think I would tell you my favorite color?” Eve teased.

“You know what I mean. I thought you would decline to answer personal questions.”

“I believe just stating things is better sometimes. For one it shocks people which is always amusing. Also it’s a defense mechanism,” Eve explained.

“How is it a defense mechanism?”

“By showing I am not embarrassed and that what I say can’t be used against me fore blackmail purposes. It shows I have no regrets and that I am not ashamed of what I have done.”

“I see…”

“That’s also why I have a tendency to be honest.”

“I suppose that’s a good thing,” Cloud stated thoughtfully. “So are you always honest.”

“For the most part. There are a few occasions where I will lie but I try to avoid it.”

“So why are you interested in following me around?” Cloud inquired. Eve could see how much it bothered him.

“You seem interesting,” Eve replied. “Nothing more or less. Although the more I learn about you the more interesting you seem to become. If this keeps up you may even become a best friend.”

“The more I know about you the weirder you seem to me,” Cloud replied. He was blushing at her compliment though. Eve burst out laughing. After that he stopped talking but Eve didn’t mind. She had embarrassed him enough. It was rare for her to see someone blush so she decided not to pick on him any further. Being from where she was no one would show anything that looked like a weakness in public. She found it endearing though. After their meal Eve invited Cloud to train. He responded that he would but only once the food they ate settled. He didn’t want to throw up on her.

Eve agreed to wait in the man time they walked around. One of the bullies from the other day tried to pick on them but Eve was quick to shut him up. Cloud didn’t bother to be offended this time. He just took it in stride. He realized that now it was something he would need to get used to. Eve seemed to be one of the violent sort. She had gotten into a fight earlier according to the whispers in the hallway. He wouldn’t be surprised if that was true. Just knowing her for a day and he knew she was the first to jump into a fight and the last to finish one. It didn’t matter what happened she would join any fight she saw. It made him realize that she didn’t help him because she saw him as weak rather the other person had pissed her off. She walked away in victory in the end.

Their self-proclaimed break ended soon. As soon as it was done Eve was dragging Cloud to the nearest training room and shoving him through the door. He didn’t have time to catch his footing as Eve put him through the paces. She had him running and jumping along with her. There was no breath for him to complain with. Once they were done exercising she made him spar with her. “You know I think we should make this a nightly ritual,” Eve commented near the end. All Cloud could do was glare at her. She began to laugh uncontrollably. She could tell Cloud was different from Sydney. Cloud was serious about his ambition. Even though it seemed like he hated her now she knew he would thank her later. “I think we’ll get on well.”


	5. Getting Along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been forever since I've updated. I've still been writing chapters I just haven't typed them. I hope you enjoy this. Sorry for those who may have been waiting on this story

Over the next few weeks Cloud and Eve became closer to one another. Eve was one of the first few people he told anything to; while Cloud was the only one she said anything to. Having one friend was plenty enough for her. Things fell through with Sydney as she expected it might. After just two more practices Sydney stopped showing up. Eve wasn’t bothered by it. She could tell Sydney wasn’t SOLDIER material so it would be a waste to train her. Cloud ended up becoming her permanent training partner though. He didn’t have a lot of strength or skill but he had plenty of good instincts. She couldn’t wait for him to reach her level. For not getting into as many fights as her, Cloud was catching up rather quickly for a rookie. Eve was extremely proud of him.

When Cloud wasn’t with her he was with his other friend, Zack. Eve had yet to meet him but she had only heard good things about him. Both boys were from towns no one had really heard of and apparently their hair both had a tendency to spike naturally. Cloud was trying to get Zack and Eve to meet. He thought they would get along well. It was his wish to spent time with both of his friends at the same time. Eve after a lot of pleading conceded to meet with Zack. They would be going out of the building to one of the entertainment centers nearby. What they decided after that depended on how everything went. Cloud’s excitement was building with each passing day. Eve would tell him she was looking forward to their day out so as to not disappoint him. She wasn’t sure about Zack but Cloud informed her that he was genuinely enthused to meet her.

The day they planned to meet came quicker than Eve expected. Cloud woke her up early in order to get ready. He was lucky he was her friend otherwise she would have killed him. Instead she just pretended to kick at his head. Breakfast was a rushed affair as Cloud didn’t want them to be late. He made them rush to the meeting place and she wasn’t surprised by what she encountered. Zack was bouncing on the balls of his feet waiting for them. Her first opinion of Zack was not exactly the best one. “Oh my god he’s a morning person,” she blurted out. Zack laughed as Cloud blushed in embarrassment.

“So how about we get to know one another before we decide on what we want to do?” Zack offered. Their original plan was good but he figured getting to know one another was important also. Eve shrugged. She didn’t care either way. “Okay, so hobbies. I like to exercise, pull pranks, and socialize.”

“Fighting is both a hobby and duty I enjoy. Besides that parkour would be my other hobby,” Eve replied.

“At least you guys have something in common,” Cloud said with a tinge of hope. He was really wanting the two to get along. “Fighting is a type of exercise and I’m sure Zack wouldn’t mind parkour. How about favorite colors?”

“Blue,” Zack stated.

“Purple or green,” Eve answered.

“Well not many people share the same color….”

“Cloud just relax,” Eve interrupted. “Not everything has to be perfect. You don’t need to force anything. We’ll eventually start talking on our own.”

“I know but…”

“No buts. We’re your friends at the very least we can be civil with one another,” Zack responded. Eve nodded in agreement. It took a bit more before Cloud could fully relax. In the meantime they figured out a place they could try out. Zack had thought they should play miniature golf. Neither Eve nor Cloud had any objections so they went to find a place to play. There was only one place to go and it was quite a bit out of the way. Despite the distance they went to check it out. Not only did it have miniature golf the building had pool tables, ping pong tables, and air hockey tables. Zack paid for all of their gear and the game. Cloud tried to protest but Zack wouldn’t hear of it. “Come on it’s my treat,” he insisted.

“Fine,” Cloud relented after much arguing.

“Really, it’s for the best he can pay for more games than we can,” Eve replied. Cloud looked at her incredulously.

“But that would be taking advantage of him,” Cloud insisted.

“Not if you pay him back later,” she pointed out.

“Let’s head to the air hockey tables they don’t look too crowded yet,” Zack cut in. He really didn’t mind helping them out by paying. Most of his gil was just saving itself up as he went on mission after mission. Cloud seemed to forget about it as they began to play. The first match was Eve versus Cloud. The match was intense as both of them got into it. Eve did a lot better than Cloud though since her reflexes were a tad bit faster. He managed to get three points before she won once she hit ten points. Zack challenged her next. She was barely able to score a single point. For all his jokes when it came to a competition he became serious. Zack then asked if Cloud wanted to play against him. Cloud and Eve shared a look.

“How about we both play against you?” Eve suggested. “Then it would be a fair game.” Zack shrugged.

“Okay, bring it on.”

Zack allowed them a few minutes to form a strategy before it was on. Cloud was on defense. He hardly moved from his post as he used the minimalist movements to block the goal. Eve was offense and would launch quick attacks that made the puck go everywhere. Together they were able to score six points. In the end though Zack still beat them. Eve told him how unfair it was since he had superior reflexes. Zack just laughed. Eve could really see herself hanging out with Zack. He was a pretty decent guy and it would make Cloud happy. Although, she did not think he could come as close to her as Cloud was. She decided to wait and see.

They went to dinner after they finished up. Eve and Cloud split the payment between them. Neither of them allowed Zack to contribute. Both stated he had paid for enough of their day out. It was a cheap meal but none of them cared. The food was filling if not decent. None of them received food poisoning at least. Dessert was even better. They decided to get a chocolate brownie loaded with hot fudge, whip cream, and cherries. It was divine. Just what they needed to end the night. Cloud was waiting on Eve’s response expectantly as Zack split apart from their group.

“You don’t need to seem so anxious,” Eve insisted. “I doubt he’ll become as close as you but he’s a decent guy. I wouldn’t mind hanging out with him more often. It was fun.”

“Thanks,” Cloud whispered. “I’m just glad you two got along. If you didn’t I don’t know what I would do.”

“At the very least we would be civil for your sake. You need to stop worrying so much.”

“I suppose…”

“Cloud listen to me,” Eve said grabbing his attention. “You are important to both of us. Neither of us want to hurt you and we respect you. No matter how close we get you’ll always be our common ground and the reason we became friends in the first place. We could never replace you in each others' heart. You are vital and important and I wish you would stop being so anxious. Trust us and relax.”

“I never expected you to say all of that,” Cloud mumbled.

“Just because I don’t like to talk a lot about feelings doesn’t mean I will let yours sit and fester until you become a negative cloud of emotions.”

“You’re a great friend.”

“Damn right. Now walk me to my room like the gentleman you are and buy me a coffee in the morning and I might forgive you for waking me up so damn early.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cloud saluted. Eve swatted at his head. They both smiled at each other. Today had been a success.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading this. Please tell me what you think and how I can improve.


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